The present invention relates to electric dry shavers of the type which include a shaving head intended to be used for cutting facial hair or beard stubble very closely and also includes a long hair trimmer or clipper which is intended for use in cutting long hair such as may be found on sideburns, mustaches, beards or the like. It is well known that the shaving heads which are adapted to the close shaving of beard stubble are not suitable for clipping or trimming long hair. The explanation for this fact lies in the construction of the outer shaving member on a shaving head which member is usually termed the comb. The comb is normally constructed of thin material having perforations or slots through which the hair to be shaved extends with the movable cutter sweeping across such slots or perforations to shear the hairs along the edges of such slots or perforations. To avoid entry of the skin into such slots or perforations where it might be cut, it is necessary to make the width or diameter of such slots or perforations relatively small. Because of the small hole or slot size, long hair tends to be bent over or deflected by the shaver comb rather than having the long hairs enter into the slots or openings. Since it is necessary to cut long hair in performing any complete facial shaving operation, it has become conventional in recent years to provide a separate long hair trimmer of the type having open slots into which the long hairs may be moved for easy trimming. Such clippers function in much the same way as a barber's trimmer and are used in a similar fashion to trim sideburns, beards and mustaches.
In order to preserve the life of the trimmer, which is used only infrequently, it is conventional to provide means for selectively energizing the trimmer whenever it becomes necessary to trim long hair. It is also well known to mount the trimmer on a shaver in such a manner that it may be retracted to a nonuse position in which it will in no way interfere with or obstruct the use of the shaving head in performing the close shaving function. In connection with trimmers which are movable between a retracted and an exposed position, it is well known to structure the driving action between the shaver motor and the clipper so that it is engaged only when the clipper is in its exposed position. Examples in the prior art shavers having these features are found in Loner U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,990, Rentima U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,782 and Brauss U.S. Pat. No. 2,917,824. Other patents of interest in this regard are de Boer et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,434 and Buchholz U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,264.